But he insisted that despite the problems both he and some of his predecssors had encountered, he did not regard managing England as an "impossible job".

He said: "It is a huge challenge but it is also an honour and I would not regard it as a poisoned chalice at all."

Talking about the motivation of the England players he has managed, McClaren said: "These are professional footballers who want to play for England.

"All I will say is they are a pleasure to work with, they really want to achieve. Unfortunately we have come up short and we all take responsibility.

"After the disappointment and the criticism we need to get behind our football players.

"I take full responsibility, results haven't gone our way and we haven't qualified and I've paid the price."

McClaren, who had a four-year deal, is expected to be paid more than £2m in compensation and with ex-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho declaring a lack of interest in the post, Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill is the bookies' favourites to succeed him.

But the FA has plenty of time to search for a replacement with England's next scheduled fixture a friendly in France at the end of March.

Former England captain Bryan Robson says the search for McClaren's successor should not be conducted by those on the FA board alone.

"For me there should be a system where people like Sir Bobby Robson, Terry Venables, Graham Taylor - people who've got vast experience - should have a say in who the next England manager is," he said.

"I don't see why they don't have an input because of the knowledge they've got."